1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fishing lures and, more particularly, to fishing lures which can be made to move to simulate the movements of live bait.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Probably no class of patents is more symptomatic of the American obsession with leisure activities than that of fishing lures. For many decades, inventors have attempted to imbue lifeless lures with characteristics of live bait.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,910,799 to Wentworth discloses an articulated fishing lure having a body with a fore portion and an aft portion interconnected by a leaf spring. A fishing line passing through an aperture in the fore portion is tied to an eye screw on the aft portion. A concave plate rigidly attached to the fore portion provides water resistance so that the leaf spring temporarily bends when the lure is pulled through the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,912,784 to Carlin discloses an artificial fishing lure having a resilient elongated cylindrical body which simulates an earth worm, a pair of spaced-apart screw eyes rigidly anchored in the body, a draw cord passing through the screw eyes and secured to a rear portion of the body, a plurality of hooks secured to the draw cord, and a spinner of fan-like contour, as well as a plurality of perforated beads loosely strung on the draw cord in front of the foremost eye screw. By tugging on the draw cord, a combination of inertia and resistance provided by the spinner cause the body to momentarily transform itself from the elongated configuration to a curved configuration. At lease fourteen individual components are assembled to form the Carlin lure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,663 to Amrine discloses a fishing lure having a main body portion and appendages formed integrally from resiliently flexible material and having a covered spring steel wire frame embedded therein. A guide tube extends longitudinally through the main body and a line extends through the guide and is connected at one end to the frame at points on the appendages spaced from the main body for remotely controlling the flexing of the appendages. A pull or sharp tug on the line will result in flexing of the leg appendages as the inertia of the lure and its resistance to movement through the water oppose the force produced by a pull on the line.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,430 to Brokaw discloses a fishing lure having an elongated body made of resilient material having at least one recess aperture therein and a connecting line operably associated with the body for momentarily selectively flexing the body along its length. At least one hook is operably connected to the connecting line. The lure relies primarily on inertia
U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,822 to Bryant discloses a lure designed to simulate the movements and sounds of a squid as it advances through the water. The Bryant lure includes a massive head and at least one collapsible intermediate body portion connected to an elongate wire. During use, pulling on the fishing line causes the tail end of the lure to move toward the head and collapse the intermediate body portion before the head moves forward through the water. The collapsing intermediate body portion also generates an audible sound which is much like the sound made by a squid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,183 to Guerin discloses an artificial bait which simulates a wounded or dying natural prey of game fish. The bait includes an upper lure body section having a weighted bill, an interior channel for receiving a fishing line and a vertical channel for retaining a hook support wire, a lower tail section having a tail actuator mechanism, and a hinge mechanism. The tail actuator mechanism includes an actuator wire having a tying eye at each end and a counterweight in the proximity of one end. Operation of the invention causes the bill to dip and rise in the water as the tail moves between a horizontal and vertical position, and the lure stays suspended without moving forward. Cranking the bait forward causes the body of the lure to wobble through the water, similar to an injured fish, unable to right itself.
All of the patents heretofore referenced disclose fishing lures that are large, relatively expensive and complex structures. What is needed is a compact, inexpensive fishing lures that simulate the movements of live bait